A strange decision on the face of it, so presumably more going on behind the scenes than is so far obvious. Any ideas?
Strange given we stuck with Appleton through a longer, arguably worse phase of results when he started.

My thoughts exactly. One thing Eales has shown himself not to be previously is trigger-happy. Unrest amongst the players? Gesturing to the crowd a sign of deeper dissatisfaction and disagreements between Clotet and the rest? Preparing for a new owner? Time will tell, although unless my most speculative idea is correct I guess we shall never know the whole truth.

Don't underestimate what Eales might have thought of the "shushing". Whatever your view of Eales, he's made a concerted effort over the years to build a healthy and positive relationship with the fans (yes, hot dogs and all). If he was in two minds about Pep's future, seeing him potentially wreck the goodwill with the supporters might ultimately have been what tipped the balance.

As for what happens next, give it to Chrissy Allen for the rest of the season to show what he can do. If we believe in giving people a chance to prove themselves, that should extend to a well-thought-of coach as well as young players.

Don't underestimate what Eales might have thought of the "shushing". Whatever your view of Eales, he's made a concerted effort over the years to build a healthy and positive relationship with the fans (yes, hot dogs and all). If he was in two minds about Pep's future, seeing him potentially wreck the goodwill with the supporters might ultimately have been what tipped the balance.

As for what happens next, give it to Chrissy Allen for the rest of the season to show what he can do. If we believe in giving people a chance to prove themselves, that should extend to a well-thought-of coach as well as young players.

I don't believe this can be for purely football reasons. We're having our best season (in terms of average league position) for about 20 years and I very much doubt we've got an 'automatic promotion' budget, so Pep was hardly massively underperforming, especially when taking key injuries into account.

I also don't reckon it means a takeover's in the offing - if so, why would Eales want to pay anyone off? Unless someone else is already pulling the strings and paying the bills. If so, and they're this trigger-happy, that wouldn't bode well.

More likely something's not right behind the scenes, and/or the fall-outs with the crowd were the last straw.

I'm still shocked though, and I don't like the way our fans have turned on him when we're mid-table.

I would agree with all this. It is a surprise, if it relates simply to results. I suspect (with no evidence, and I agree we are unlikely ever to know) that it relates to off-the-field issues. Two possible contributing factors would be disagreements on transfer policy (Clotet appearing to try to box Eales in over the sale of Ledson), and losing the dressing room / discontent. In this context, there have been a run of very temporary injuries: Eastwood, Ledson, Thomas.

I hope we appoint a footballing manager, not an old hack / 'safe bet' who will take us back to playing Atkins-style football.

Yeah, it's an odd decision. I've been very pessimistic about our play recently, but would certainly have given Pep at least until the end of the season, barring an absolutely shocking sequence of results. After all, however badly we've been playing lately, we're in the top half of the table. So there must be something else going on, I think.

I don't believe this can be for purely football reasons. We're having our best season (in terms of average league position) for about 20 years and I very much doubt we've got an 'automatic promotion' budget, so Pep was hardly massively underperforming, especially when taking key injuries into account.

I also don't reckon it means a takeover's in the offing - if so, why would Eales want to pay anyone off? Unless someone else is already pulling the strings and paying the bills. If so, and they're this trigger-happy, that wouldn't bode well.

More likely something's not right behind the scenes, and/or the fall-outs with the crowd were the last straw.

I'm still shocked though, and I don't like the way our fans have turned on him when we're mid-table.

KY - many players could not stand Clotet and did not “get him”. When you lose the dressing room
it’s very difficult.

There was a moment on Saturday when (I think) it was still 0-0 when Chrissy Allen went to Clotet on the edge of the technical area and had a few words in his ear and when he (Allen) walked back to his seat he rolled his eyes and shook his head in apparent exasperation. I wondered then if it was the team or the manager he was frustrated with.

All we've got to worry about now is who replaces him, Phil Brown or Frank Lampard? (as recommended by TiU).

Going back to the Summer, we'd had months of speculation about the Sartori takeover, which eventually Eales turned down as "in the best interests of the football club". Quite what that meant is open to debate, some would say it meant it wasn't in Eales best interests (not enough money), or it could be argued that the uncertainty prompted Appleton to jump ship before he potentially had a bad season after two decent ones. Also I guess that Eales chose to cash in on player sales for Johnson and Lundstram, rather than have them undervalued in any takeover bid.

It was by now clear that there was more interest in the club from Tiger and co, although that seems to have gone quiet. So we then brought in Pep, which I saw as a Gary Waddock type cheap option as an interim manager before any new owner clears the decks with his own team, and significant positions in the club remained empty.

So why sack Pep now? It's been said some of the players don't "get" Pep, and I think Ledson and possibly Eastwood are (or were) seriously considering a move rather than waste half a season stagnating. I don't think we are bad enough to get relegated, but for the club to be an attractive takeover target, we have to be challenging for the play-offs, and also we need a club that young players want to join as a stepping stone to resurrect their careers if they are EPL drop-outs.

OUFC4eva: are you (or anyone else) able to enlighten us any further without breaking confidences? Losing the dressing room would seem to be a logical part of this. I can imagine Eales will have kept close enough to the players (or Faz or Chrissy?) to be aware of anything which was going down.

I don't know about losing the dressing room, but I think he'd lost the crowd and was starting to cost the club money in attendances. Saturday reminded me of Wilder's last game - low crowd, odd atmosphere, a flat feeling interspersed with anger.

On footballing grounds the decision is harsh but there is a lack of heart in the side that would be horribly exposed if we got into a relegation battle.

OUFC4eva: are you (or anyone else) able to enlighten us any further without breaking confidences? Losing the dressing room would seem to be a logical part of this. I can imagine Eales will have kept close enough to the players (or Faz or Chrissy?) to be aware of anything which was going down.

Can’t reveal source but a reliable one nonetheless from inside the club.

Isn’t the son of one of our Directors a football agent with several of the Oxford players on his books...? Surely that’s a good source to the board of the ins and outs of the dressing room and the mood therein...

KY - many players could not stand Clotet and did not “get him”. When you lose the dressing room it’s very difficult.

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm not sure it's important that the players like a manager. Surely the other coaches (particularly Faz) are there to keep them in line? I'd be interested which players you're referring too - the ones whose agents are agitating for a move maybe? Having said that, our recent successes have been built on a spirit of togetherness, not just in the dressing room but from boardroom to the fans too. I'm not sure Pep was the only person responsible for that solidarity breaking down though. It is typical of recent times that DE hasn't made any kind of statement about the situation yet...